Home » The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints » Missionary Experiences » Evil Spirits Interest in Missionary Work
| Evil Spirits Interest in Missionary Work [message #1979] |
Tue, 15 January 2013 14:37  |
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rdwhitaker
Messages: 118
Registered: December 2012
Location: Vancouver, Washington
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Senior Member |
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There were several times when my mission companion and I were going up some very steep, extremely narrow stairs inside an apartment building to visit some investigators. This building was probably around 400 years old and the stairs were barely wide enough for one person to go up. We often heard an additional set of foot steps following right behind us. The first time my companion just about pushed me over trying to get ahead of me. I told him to relax, we were going about the Lord's business and the evil spirits were very interested in how we were doing, but there was nothing they could do to us. We continued to hear their foot steps on those stairs during quite a few visits after that, but nothing more ever came of it.
Another time with a different companion, we had eaten dinner at a member's house and were walking a long distance to catch the last bus back to our apartment. It was night and dark outside. I realized at one point that I was walking alone - my companion had stopped somewhere behind me. I went back to get him, and found him walking in little circles and swatting at the air around his head. He was muttering, "They're all around us! Can you feel them?" I didn't see anything and I asked him what he was talking about. He said, "I don't know! But they're everywhere!" I realized he was being bothered by some evil spirits. For some reason he was more susceptible to their influence. I told him in a very matter of fact voice, "Elder, are you going to stand here all night -- or can we get back to our apartment?" He seemed to come to his senses and kind of laughed, and said "Oh, yeah. Let's get going!"
Also on my mission, we were teaching a wonderful young family with a couple of little kids. After quite a few visits, the father said to us one night, "We sure do appreciate your coming here to see us!" I thanked him for the compliment and started to continue on with the discussion, but the father interrupted me and said, "No, you don't understand. Let me explain." He told us that they had been investigating with a number of various religious groups who were proselytizing in the area before we came along. The more they listened to these other people, the more uneasy the father and his family became. It got so they started seeing glowing eyes in the dark corners of rooms at night, felt the cold, oppressive presence of spirits, and their children kept waking up at night in terror. But, he said, the first time we visited, all of those things immediately stopped, and all they felt after our visits was peace, warmth and security. I explained to him about the Spirit of God, and how we were commissioned representatives of Christ. We left a priesthood blessing no their home. He told us that his family never had another experience with any evil spirits after that.
Finally, near the end of my mission, I got a new companion who had only been out a couple of months. I had about 3 weeks to go before my mission ended. One night before retiring to bed, my companion told me, "Elder, I sure appreciate having you as my companion." I was surprised to hear him say this, and he explained further. "As soon as I put in my mission papers, I started to get attacked by evil spirits. The closer I got to leaving to the LTM the worse they started attacking me. They would often pull me out of my bed at night and throw me into the wall." He described other ways that he was attacked by evil spirits and how they threatened to do bad things to him and to his family if he chose to go on his mission. These problems continued to vex him the whole time he was in the LTM, despite having received a lot of blessings during his stay there.
When he got out to the mission field, the problems continued just as strongly as before. His first companion was pretty freaked out by it and didn't want him around any longer, so he got transferred to me. My new companion was very worried about how I might react if and when these things continued to happen. When he arrived to start serving with me, he was very apprehensive about what was coming, especially at night. He was pleased that nothing happened to him the first night, nor the second night, and so on for the next three weeks.
That's when we had our little talk about his history. He said those three weeks were the most peaceful he had enjoyed for more than six months, and that was why he appreciated being there with me. I visited with him many years later at a mission reunion, and he confirmed that his experiences with evil spirits had actually happened, and the peaceful effect of his being my companion had on him. I didn't ask him if he had any more problems with evil spirits after I left - I wish I had thought of it.
From all these experiences, it became more clear to me that one of the gifts of the spirit I had been blessed with was along with "discernment" of spirits, of having some degree of power over them.
Ryan
Don't . . . Quit . . . Trying!!
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| Re: Evil Spirits Interest in Missionary Work [message #3589 is a reply to message #1979] |
Sun, 04 March 2018 20:31  |
The Airbender
Messages: 20
Registered: March 2018
Location: Blanding
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Junior Member |
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I had an experience similar to what happened to your companion in the street swatting at the spirits. I was dating a girl. I was 18 and had only the Aaronic Priesthood. I had been in a bad mood that day and had picked her up after school to go spend some time together. I remember specifically feeling terribly dragged down and pessimistic that evening.
On the drive home there came a moment where suddenly I felt relieved and happy. I don't know what was said or done at that moment, but I do remember feeling extremely relieved and happy. But I looked over and noticed that she was then beginning to feel attacked. She actually said out loud several times "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to leave!" but nothing was happening. I had never seen anything like this or imagined that there were evil spirits present.
I remembered something that had been said to me years earlier, as a 14-year-old. My young men's leader had told me that if I was ever out in the woods and an animal came to attack me (I imagined a bear trying to eat me) that I should raise my arm to the square and command it to leave in the name of Jesus Christ. I remember him telling me that even though I only have the Aaronic Priesthood, they would still have to obey.
I was prompted to do just that. As soon as I raised my hand to the square and said the words, it or they left. It was a miracle done in the name of Jesus Christ. That was my first experience in which I recognized evil spirits being present in my life. It would take several more years before I actually realized how present these entities are in our lives every day.
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